Sun bra



S. H. SMITH Jan. 20, 1959 SUN BRA Filed NOV. 14, 1955 INVENToR.

6am/@ H. 5mdk BY 8MM www ATTORNEYS SUN BRA Samuel H. Smith, Sherman aks, Calif., assignor to Jantzen line., Portland, reg., a corporation of Nevada Application November 14, 1955, Serial No. 546,461

1 Claim. (Cl. 12S-456) This invention relates to sun bras and particularly to sun bras of the strapless type.

One object of the present invention is to provide a detachable cover for a strapless brassiere so that the brassiere and cover combination can be worn as a sun bra or halter without the necessity of wearing any additional garment in the region of the upper torso. j

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a cover for a strapless brassiere, said cover having new and improved means for releasably connecting it to the strapless brassiere in overlying relation therewith whereby to conceal the brassiere so that the combination may be worn for sports wear and the like.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more fully understood from the following description considered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings.

ln the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View looking toward the front of a sun bra embodying the present invention and being worn, the wearer being shown in phantom;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view similar to Fig. 'i1 looking toward the rear of the sun bra;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is a sectional View taken along the line 4--4 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective View of the sun bra shown otf the wearer, illustrating the novel means for releasably connecting the cover to a strapless brassiere.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, the sun bra 1i) is shown inFig. l asbeing worn on a wearer W. The sun bra 10 comprises a strapless brassiere 12 and a cover 14 releasably connected to the brassiere in overlying relation therewith in a manner to be described hereinafter.

Brassiere 12 may be of any suitable construction. As shown herein, brassiere 12 comprises a pair of breast cups 16 which are connected together by means of a central panel 18 which is secured to portions of the periphery of the breast'cups as by stitching. In order to provide proper support bo-nes Ztl, which may be in the lorrn of U lshaped relatively rigid wire elements, are secured to the periphery of the breast cups so that they will be close to the wearers chest when the garment is being worn. The bones 20 are disposed in-pockets defined by fabric strips overlying peripheral portions of the breast cups. Secured to the breast cups and extending outwardly therefrom in the plane of bones 20 are band portions 24 and 26 which are adapted to encircle the wearer W and tobe held in body encircling relation therewith by means of complementary fastening means 28 and 3G secured adjacent the ends of the band portions 24 and 26, respectively. Suitably secured to the band portions 24 and 26 and spaced from the breast cups 16 are bones 32 which are straight and which provide further support for the wearer.

Cover 1li preferably comprises a central portion 34 which is wider than breast cups and panel 18 and which @,hhgz Patented fdan. Z, i359 adapts cover 14 for use with a number of brassiere sizesand also provides for tight fitting of the'cover 14 over the brassiere 12 when the garment is being worn. The end portions 36 and 3S of cover 14 are adapted to encircle the back of the wearer W and are each provided with complementary fastening male and female means 42 and 44, respectively, to hold the cover in body encircling relation. In order to have the central portio-n 34 of cover 14 iit closely with the breast cups so as to pro-vide the garment with a graceful, attractive and natural form central portion 14 is narrowed down adjacent the area between the two breast cups 16 by means of a plurality of tucks or pleats 43 which enable the central portion to take on the contours of the breastcups. To further enhance the beauty of the cover, the central portion 34 is also tucked at both ends thereof as at 45 at the areas of connection with the band portions 36 and 38 of the cover so as to form the cover with a pair of pockets or cups adapted to overlie and generally conform to the breast cups 16 of brassiere 12.

Means are provided for releasably holding cover 14 in xed relation with the brassiere 12 whereby toprevent inadvertent movement of the cover relative to the brassiere which movement could result in exposure of the brassiere to view. In accordance with this feature of the present invention, a lo-ngitudinally extending tab or hap 43 is secured along the upper peripheral edge of the central portion 34 in the area adapted to overlie panel 13 between the `breast cups 16. This connection may be effected in any suitable manner as by stitching 50. Also secured to the cover by stitching 50 is a male connector 52 which is sodisposed that the connecting portion t 1ereof extends inwardly and is adapted to extend towards the body of the wearer W. Tab or fiap 48 is provided at its other end with a female connector 54 which is adapted to be releasably connected'with male connector 52 in a manner to be described below. ln order to releasabi cure the cover to the brassiere, iiap or tab 48 is folded er looped around the cover and the brassiere as best :hewn in Fig. 3 and thereafter female connector 54 is brought into engagement with male connector 52 so as to releasably hold the flap in said encircling relationship with the cover and brassiere. It will be noted that in order to properly orient connector 54 so that it can be connected to connector S2, the end of flap 43 carrying connector 54 must be doubled over as at 53 thereby covering the conA nector S4 and preventing it from engaging the skin of the wearer which could be irritating and uncomfortable. When encircling the cover and the brassiere, it will be seen that movement of the cover relative to 'the brassiere in a lateral direction is substantially prevented. Furthermore, by disposing the flap 48 in the area between the breast cups i6, the flap engages the sides of the breast cups which extend outwardly of the iap in its encirc'ring relationship with the brassiere and cover and thereby prevents longitudinal movement of the cover relative to the brassiere. ln this manner, substantial movement of the central portion 34 of the cover in any direction relative to the breast cups is prevented. Moreover, it will be noted that by securing flap 48 in encircling relation as heretofore described, an additional means is provided for ccnforming the central portion 34 o f cover 14 to the contours as defined by the breast cups in the brassiere, thereby further enhancing the beauty of the garment. It is to be noted that ap 455 is provided with widened. portier:

3 substantially centrally of the ap 48 which widened portion conforms the iiap to the general peripheral contour of the breast cups to further enhance the beauty of the garment and provides it with a tailor-made appearance when worn. v

To further releasably connect cover 14 to brassiere 12, means are provided on the cover band portions 36 and 38 to connect them to the brassiere portions24 and 26, respectively. As shown herein particularly in Fig. 5, the additional connecting means is constituted by a pair of loops 60 and 62 which are connected as by stitching to cover band portions 36 and 38, respectively. As the cover band portions are wider than the brassiere band portions in order to conceal the latter, the brassiere band portions can be inserted through the loops to thereby prevent relative lateral movement between the band portions which movement would result in the brassiere band portions coming into view. Furthermore, the loop connections permit relative longitudinal movement between the band portions which will permit elastic portion 40 on cover band portion 36 to be effective to hold the cover tightly over the brassiere. Moreover, as will become clear presently, by permitting relative longitudinal movement between the band portions, the putting on of the sun bra is greatly facilitated.

In putting on the garment, the wearer just inserts brassiere band portions 24 and 26 through loops 60 and 62, as shown in Fig. 5. Then the wearer winds flap 48 around the cover central portion and around the brassiere in the area of panel 18 and connects connectors 52-54 to hold the Hap in its described position. Thereafter, the wearer can move the cover band portions longitudinally of the brassiere band portions toward the breast cups so as to prevent the cover band portions from interfering when the wearer connects the brassiere in body encircling relation by interconnecting elements 28 and 30. Thereafter, the wearer brings the cover into body encircling relation by interengaging complementary connecting means 42 and 44. It will be seen when so worn, the cover t4 completely overlies and conceals brassiere 12 thereby rendering the garment suitable for outdoor sports or informal wear.

While I have herein shown and described one form of the present invention it will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made therein within the scope of the appended claim without departing from vthe spirit and scope of this invention.

Having thus described `my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by letters patent is:

A cover for a strapless brassiere having a pair of breast cups operatively connected to one another and a pair of band portions operatively connected to said breast cups and adapted to extend around a wearer and to be releasably connected to each other to hold said brassiere on the wearer, said cover comprising a central portion adapted to overlie said breast cups and a pair of band portions extending away from opposite ends of said central portion and adapted to be releasably connected to each other and to overlie said brassiere band portions whereby to conceal said brassiere, a flap secured to said central portion an-d extending transversely thereof, said iiap being adapted to extend around and encircle said central portion and said brassiere in the area of the operative connection of said breast cups to one another, and means on said ap for releasably holding the latter in said encircling relation whereby to releasably secure said central portion against substantial movement relative to said breast cups, a loop secured to each of said cover band portions, each of said loops being adapted to permit insertion of a corresponding brassiere band portion therethrough whereby to prevent relative lateral movement therebetween and to permit relative longitudinal movement therebetween.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNlTED STATES PATENTS 1,254,043 James Ian. 23, 1918 1,962,314 Lytton June 12, 1934 2,044,623 Moran June 16, 1936 2,508,355 Alberts May 23, 1950 2,654,091 Nelson Oct. 6, 1953 2,698,940 Dombek Jan. 1l, 1955 

